Overview
We’ve developed a program that infuses our business culture with that “can-do” attitude that so many companies strive for. It traverses all phases of our business cycle, from opportunity creation and pursuit to all elements of contract execution.
We call this program thinkColumbus.
thinkColumbus
We use a combination of tools, methods and locations to share thinkColumbus with employees and customers. These include blogs, discussion forums, technical wikis, collaboration groups, mentorship programs, publications, and learning and innovation center facilities — including Columbus’ Center of Excellence.
Engineering Innovation Center
The EIC’s state-of-the-art laboratory resources can be leveraged by Columbus customers, industry/university partners and employees to facilitate the development and infusion of innovative technologies into a wide variety of customer Engineering, Science, and Mission applications.
Center of Excellence
Columbus’ customers include federal departments and agencies within the Aerospace, National Security and Health Services markets. Our diverse customer base provides the men and women of Columbus access to a range of mission focus areas that span three distinct areas of expertise: Engineering, Technology and Science. We continuously see opportunities to share information with customers across these markets and disciplines.
Customer & Employee Engagement Forums
- Customer-facing technology demonstrations in the areas of Cyber, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing and Software Development
- Employee communications, including our quarterly newsletter and townhall meetings
- Peer-to-peer technology demonstrations that share current innovations and best practices. These also allow staff to develop presentation and critique skills, serving as dry runs of technical presentations to be made at conferences or customer meetings.
Collaboration Spaces
- Columbus’ Washington-area Center of Excellence
- Staff-led communities of practice on technical topics and disciplines
Information Sharing
- Position papers on relevant topics of interest
- A video library of previous technical presentations
- Managed technical wiki pages where the experience of our senior technical SMEs is leveraged to address day-to-day problems across our customer engagements
- Blogs for high-visibility/high-value project engagements and campaigns
- Subject-matter experts at industry conferences and panels
Continuous Learning & Improvement
- The Columbus Cyber Training Academy
- Customer and employee education
Innovation Center
- A research, prototyping, training and “flat-sat” proof-of-concept facility
- Award pool to recognize and reward innovative ideas that contribute to the mission of Columbus and our customers
- A special R&D investment pool to provide initial development for competitively selected ideas that will provide measurable benefits to our customers’ missions